Jonas Valanciunas Offers Vague Answer About NBA Future After Nuggets Trade

The veteran center's status has been up in the air as Denver waits for the trade to become official.

The Nuggets traded for Jonas Valanciunas in hopes that he could provide valuable depth behind Nikola Jokic. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Denver Nuggets' acquisition of center Jonas Valančiūnas was set to give the team some important flexibility down low, especially in the minutes without three-time MVP Nikola Jokic. However, it is still unclear whether Valančiūnas, a 33-year-old Lithuania native who has been in the NBA since 2012, will play the 2025–26 season stateside.

Valančiūnas, who has two years remaining on the deal he signed with the Sacramento Kings last offseason, has reportedly been pursued by Greek team Panathinaikos for a potential return to pro hoops in Europe. The Nuggets intend to have Valančiūnas honor his NBA contract, however, per ESPN.

Valančiūnas spoke about the situation for the first time during Lithuania's B8 basketball summit, but he remained pretty cryptic about his personal wishes and plans for the upcoming season.

"When the trade is finalized, we'll come up with a plan. [The Nuggets] will express their wishes, how they think, how they see it," he said, per Eurohoops.

That certainly isn't a strong indicator that Valančiūnas wants to head to Denver to back up Jokic rather than make a move to Europe, but he is playing his cards close to the vest as best he can.

The veteran center is set to make $10,395,000 on his deal this year and $10 million in 2026–27, though his contract for the final year of the deal is not guaranteed.

He averaged 10.4 points and 7.7 rebounds for the Washington Wizards and Kings in 2024–25.

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